Teenage boy opens fire at Serbian school, killing 9

A 14-year-old boy opened fire in his prestigious school in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Wednesday morning, killing eight children and a security guard and seriously injuring several others, according to officials.

The rare and shocking incident prompted panic among parents at the school, many of whom gathered outside the facility and were desperately trying to reach their children.

Seven girls and one boy were killed, alongside the security guard, Belgrade’s Police Chief Veselin Milić said at a press conference.

The suspect opened fire in a history classroom, “because it was near the entrance of the school,” he added. The teenager then called the police himself and waited to be arrested in the schoolyard, Milić said.

A further six children and one teacher have been hospitalized, according to Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The alleged shooter was later filmed being taken from the school in handcuffs with a jacket over his head and wearing blue, skinny jeans. He was flanked by police officers and driven away in an unmarked police car.

Nearby, parents struggled to come to terms with the shooting, which shook the country on Wednesday. The father of one student said he ran to the school to look for his daughter after seeing police at the scene, according to CNN affiliate N1.

“My child is still in shock, full of adrenaline, we haven’t been able to calm her down,” a mother of one child told N1.